Produced by John Wright and Matt Dean

Followed by a Q&A with Bart Campolo and John Wright

7:00 P.M. on Monday, March 5th, 2018

FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVPs REQUIRED.

About Leaving My Father's Faith

Does a pastor lose his son, when the son loses his faith? International best selling author and pastor Tony Campolo is devastated when his 50 year old son Bart announces that he no longer believes in God. Having worked together for decades in Christian ministry, the two must now find a way reconcile their personal understandings of Christianity and Humanism before a rift separates them indefinitely. Together they face controversial issues like the meaning of life and life after death.

About the Guests

BART CAMPOLO (Documentary Protagonist)

Born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, Bart became an evangelical Christian as a teenager and was immediately attracted to urban ministry. After graduating from Brown University and serving as an urban youth pastor in Minneapolis, he returned to Philadelphia to found Mission Year, a national service organization which recruits young adults to live and work among the poor in inner-city neighborhoods. As he became an influential evangelical leader, however, Bart increasingly questioned his faith. In 2005 he returned to street-level ministry in inner-city Cincinnati, where he eventually completed his gradual transition from Christianity to secular humanism. In 2014 he moved to Los Angeles to become the first humanist chaplain at the University of Southern California, from which he launched his podcast and his counseling practice, both of which now reach people around the world. Since returning to Cincinnati in 2017, Bart has continued to focus on inspiring and equipping people to make the most of their lives by actively pursuing goodness and meaning in an openly secular way. He presently serves as the humanist chaplain at the University of Cincinnati.

JOHN WRIGHT (Director, Producer, Editor)

John Wright is a documentary filmmaker, freelance videographer and radio producer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, living and working in Arizona and California.

John is a preacher’s kid, the son of an Irish Presbyterian minister. He took an early interest in questions of theology, had an active role in church life as a teenager and engaged with evangelical Christian tradition with enthusiasm. As time went on, John explored different expressions of faith, such as non-denominational charismatic church and what became known as the ‘emergent’ church. He became part of some prominent Christian circles in Belfast and took an interest in church history, the origins of the bible and different ideas of faith. At the same time, John was learning media production at school, and beginning to develop content for various small publications and broadcasts. After some time in Belfast radio, John got married to an American and moved to the United States, joining a radio station in Arizona and taking up documentary filmmaking.

John’s documentary work shares a broad focus on what people believe and why. He explored the role of belief in two separate documentaries about the Mohave Native American tribe on the Colorado River, their traditions and culture, and how they are asserting those beliefs in the present day. His first documentary was a light-hearted but sincere look at the very real and widespread beliefs of a rural desert community in a mythological creature. Tony Campolo was a speaker at many Christian events that John attended as a young person in Ireland, so he was aware of Tony as a Christian preacher from an early age. But he didn’t meet Bart Campolo until 2014, after they were put in touch by a mutual friend. It wasn’t long until John had mentioned the possibility of a documentary capturing Bart’s conversation with his dad, seeing the potential of such a film immediately after reading about the story of Bart’s ‘deconversion’ in the national news.

Having been a part of the religious conversation for so long, John did not find it difficult to identify with either Bart’s doubts or Tony’s beliefs. He approached the project as a film about the stories we tell; the Christian story, Bart’s story of disbelieving it and Tony’s story that helps him make sense of Bart’s departure. At heart it is a profoundly human tale about a relationship between a father and his son, and the bonds that endure even in tough times. John stays in touch with the Campolo family and real friendships resulted from their collaboration. His hope is that both religious and secular audiences will find Tony and Bart relatable and engaging, and their conversation meaningful and valuable.

Currently John is working on a third film with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, a video series for Professional Photographers of America and a documentary film on the authority of the President of the United States to use nuclear weapons.

About Outside the Box [Office]

Outside the Box [Office] is a weekly showcase for upcoming releases highlighting world cinema, documentary and independent film titles. Recognizing a need for greater diversity on campus, the series will draw from around the globe to present movies that may challenge, inspire or simply entertain.

Check-In & Reservations

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a valid USC ID or print out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

Parking

The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking passes may be purchased for $12.00 at the USC Royal Street Entrance, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & Royal Street. We recommend the USC Royal Street Structure, at the far end of 34th Street. Limited street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.